The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Myrica or wax myrtle that is grown for use as an ornamental evergreen shrub or small tree. It is known botanically as Myrica cerifera and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘SOLEIL’.
‘SOLEIL’ is the product of a breeding program started by the inventor in 1992 in a cultivated area of Raleigh, N.C. The primary focus of the breeding program is to produce new cultivars of shrubs and trees with attractive foliage.
‘SOLEIL’ was selected in 1994 as a single seedling from a large population of seedlings which the inventor had grown from seed collected from pollination of the inventor's large collection of Myrica. The inventor is unable to identify either the male or the female parent.
‘SOLEIL’ exhibits brilliant yellow foliage. There are no known comparable cultivars known to the inventor. There are varieties that are unique for dwarfness or cut leaves including Myrica ‘Georgia Gem’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,411) and Myrica ‘Lane’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,555), but these do not exhibit the bright gold-yellow leaf color of ‘Soleil’.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by the inventor in 1994 in a cultivated area of Raleigh, N.C. The method of asexual propagation used was softwood cuttings. Since that time the characteristics of the new cultivar have been determined stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations by asexual propagation.